A bird fell, improvised arrow sticking from its breast.

‘And I am good with a bow,’ she said. ‘All the children of Avelorn are.’

She walked over to where the bird’s corpse lay, picked it up and began removing feathers. Tyrion already knew she intended to use them on her arrows.

‘I could have brought that down,’ he said, a little defensively, ‘with a thrown stone.’

‘You may not always be here to ward and feed me. I think it best to be prepared for that eventuality.’

As she said this, she turned and fired again. Another bird fell.

Tyrion could think of nothing to say. She was correct.

Dorian looked at the chief scout then at the dead witch elves.

‘You see it?’ Scout Commander Malak asked.

‘The wounds have been cauterised.’

Malak nodded. ‘Unless a passing torturer decided to mutilate the corpses with red-hot pokers, I would say they went this way.’

‘Good. I want this elf found and I want him dead, and I want the Everqueen back in my hands before this week is out.’

‘Perhaps you should simply leave the matter in my hands, general,’ Malak said. ‘I can do what needs to be done, and someone needs to be in command of the army.’

‘You think to teach me my duties, or how to run my command?’

‘Of course not, general.’

‘Good. Let me explain something to you. There is nothing in the whole wide world more important than finding the elf with the burning sword and the woman who is with him. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, general.’

‘If he is not found, none of our lives will be spared. The Witch King will make an example of us all.’ Dorian paused and studied Malak’s expression. If the scout thought that the general had gone mad, no sign of it showed on his face. If he was laughing inwardly at Dorian’s failure, it was cleverly concealed. He had spoken loudly so that his words would reach all nearby ears. Soon it would be communicated to the whole army. He thought he had better emphasise the point.

‘If we find the Everqueen, our rewards will be unimaginable. If we fail, the tale of our deaths will cause druchii everywhere to shudder for twice ten thousand years.’

‘We will not fail, general,’ said Malak.

‘Good. Now let us get about our business.’

Bending over the tracks like a hound sniffing at a trail, Malak looked for clues. After a moment, he said, ‘There were only two of them, a male and a female. They were garbed as druchii or at least wearing the boots of our soldiers.’

‘I think it safe to assume they are in disguise then…’

‘Indeed. They fought against a dozen witch elves and killed them all. The weapon used by one of them was a magical burning sword. It is definitely the elf you want, general.’

‘How long till we find them?’

‘They are travelling fast and light but my scouts can overhaul them. I recommend we fan out our force on either side of the trail in case they are hiding. I will assign a tracker to each company. We can send scouts on Cold Ones ahead down the trail and hope to overhaul them.’

‘So be it,’ said Dorian. ‘Let us get to it.’

Already he was thinking that it might be best not to rely on the skills of his scouts. It might be best to invoke sorcery.